Going into the new season of the Spike TV reality show "Ink Master," Rehoboth Beach tattoo artist Keith Diffenderfer thought the show's host, rocker Dave Navarro, would be the biggest celebrity he would face.

Well, he was wrong.

In one of the forthcoming episodes of the show's fourth season, the contestants are surprised by a special guest when A-List actor Hugh Jackman walks in.

"I was like, 'Holy [crap], it's Wolverine!' He rules," says Diffenderfer, 32, who works at Honor and Iron Tattoos on Del. 1 just outside of Rehoboth Beach near the Tanger Outlets. "He's tall as hell – like a tree."

Going into it, Diffenderfer wasn't too familiar with the show, having only seen it a handful of times. But there he was on set in New York in November, fighting it out for the $100,000 grand prize, which will be awarded during the show's finale in May. (Until then, Diffenderfer is keeping mum about how he did.)

"I had no idea what I was getting into," says Diffenderfer, who has been tattooing for 13 years. "I just wanted to do some bad-ass tattoos."

If Diffenderfer wins this season of "Ink Master," he would actually be the second Delaware tattoo artist to take home the $100,000 prize. Shane O'Neill of Middletown's Shane O'Neill Tattoos won the competition's first season.

The show has grown into more of a traditional reality show with contestants living together and performing challenges, like having to pick up a scorpion or tarantula in last week's episode.

Diffenderfer and his competitors had to pick up and photograph the bugs before tattooing them onto someone.

Diffenderfer, who isn't squeamish, went with the tarantula, thinking that his 3-year-old son, Maximus, who is a big fan of Spider-Man, would like that best.

After each tattoo challenge, the contestants line up and face Navarro, along with judges Chris Núñez ("Miami Ink") and Oliver Peck, for what is usually a barrage of criticism.

In the first two episodes, they criticized both a horseshoe and spider tattoo that Diffenderfer had done, complaining about everything from shape and shading to lines and shadowing. For his part, Diffenderfer took it well, determined to use the critique for good: "It was hard, but I always want to better myself. So I thought, 'OK, if you don't like this, I'm going to deliver next time.'"

The York, Pa., native has been tattooing in Delaware for about two years, starting at Tough Luck Tattoo in Dover before moving to Rehoboth's Honor and Iron Tattoos. He says he is now looking into opening his own tattoo shop.

The show's new season, which also includes a guest spot by New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, premiered Feb. 25 and its third episode will air Tuesday at 10 p.m. on Spike TV. Diffenderfer is one of 15 artists remaining in the reality show, which is Spike TV's highest rated original series.

"The show has motivated me to try for a business loan and open my own shop," he says. "It also makes me want to do more. This is just the beginning."

Contact Ryan Cormier at (302) 324-2863 or rcormier@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryancormier or subscribe at www.facebook.com/ryancormier.